UN envoy urges truce in 20-month Syrian conflict

AFP, DAMASCUS

A man carries a woman from her destroyed home in the Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday.

Photo: AFP

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi called yesterday for a ceasefire in Syria during the upcoming four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, as the revolt entered its 20th month with a death toll of more than 33,000.

Brahimi made his call as he shuttled between Syria’s neighbors, which have been bitterly divided by the conflict along the confessional lines that have traditionally riven the Islamic world.

The envoy was in Shiite-majority Iraq yesterday after holding talks in Shiite-ruled Iran, closest ally of the minority Alawite-dominated regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Iraq has striven to remain neutral in the conflict.

Late last week, Brahimi visited Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the two Sunni-led states that have been the biggest champions of the Syrian opposition.

Turkey said on Sunday that it had banned Syrian civilian aircraft from its airspace, mirroring a similar move by Damascus, as tensions between the neighbors soared over Ankara’s confiscation of a cargo of radar equipment from a civilian flight from Moscow last week.

“Brahimi has appealed to the Iranian authorities to assist in achieving a ceasefire in Syria during the forthcoming Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays celebrated by the Muslims around the world,” a statement from the envoy said.

Brahimi “underlined that the crisis in Syria was getting worse every day and stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed,” it added. “He reiterated the call by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for a ceasefire and a halt to the flow of arms to both sides. A ceasefire, he said, would help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop.”

The Eid al-Adha holiday later this month marks the climax of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, which is an obligation for the faithful who can afford it once it in a lifetime.

The mounting spat between Damascus and Anakra threatened to mar arrangements for the pilgrimage. The ban on Turkish flights entering Syrian airspace, through which pilgrims would normally travel to the holy places in Saudi Arabia, had an immediate impact on Turks wanting to take part in the hajj.

Even on Wednesday, when Turkish jets intercepted the Syrian cargo sparking the latest escalation, a first aircraft headed for Saudi Arabia from the Turkish city of Bursa made an emergency landing in southeastern Turkey, rather than risk flying on through Syrian airspace.

The matching moves on flights come amid increasing tensions on the long border between Syria and Turkey, large swathes of which have been seized by rebel fighters.

On Oct. 3, five Turkish civilians were killed by cross-border fire against the rebels, who Syria charges are receiving arms from Gulf Arab states through Turkey.

Turkey has given sanctuary to tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict, most of them civilians, but including deserting officers who have formed the kernel of the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Disaster agency AFAD said yesterday that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has now reached 100,363 as Ankara called on Europe to do more to help.

In an interview with German daily Die Welt, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis said: “Europe should start thinking about the people who have fled Syria into Turkey.”

“Europe is in a state of paralysis. There is no progress because it is completely fixated on the euro crisis,” he said.